Cynder's Darkness
by Slasher - The Celestial Moon
Summary: This is the story of Cynder's life. How the darkness consumed her and the true reason for it.
1. Prologue

Cynder's Darkness

Prologue

A large black egg lay in a nest of fur and leaves, having just been taken from it's home in the Dragon Temple by a race of maniacal creatures called the apes. They were large thickset creature resembling brutish baboons standing on their hind legs and wearing armour. A particularly l one with a staff adorned by a green glowing crystal and an eye made of the same substance was watching the egg intently. The ape's name was Gaul and he was the Ape King, that he was so interested in the egg meant that it was very important. This egg would raise the apes above the dragons. Ironic, as the egg was in fact a Dragon egg. The egg lay still and silent on the nest for several days until, finally, the tiniest squeak was heard from it.

"My lord." said a small, scrawny ape healer "The egg will hatch within two days to a week."

Gaul growled "Make it hatch within two days or I'll rip you in two."

He stalked away leaving the healer ape petrified. He began muttering under his breath for two days until Gaul came back. The egg still had not hatched.

"I'm sorry my lord… b…b…but the… egg… just wouldn't hatch… no matter what I did."

Suddenly a long thin crack appeared in the egg. Gaul stared at it and dismissed the relieved ape, who scurried off before he was summoned back.

More cracks had appeared in the egg and it was now wobbling furiously as if a massive thunderstorm was contained within it. Gaul watched the egg wobble furiously but his thin patience was snapping and he was about to reach over and break the egg when a long black tail shot out of it. The tails barbed blade sliced at the egg shell and anything else that happened to be within reach. This just happened to be, Gaul's finger. The massive ape growled at the dragon, it leapt back into its egg terrified. However when Gaul reached in to snatch it out, there was a blur of fangs and talons as the dragon attempted to shred his hand. He butted the dragon over the head and it fell to the ground, unconscious.

Gaul picked up the limp hatchling, examined it and found it to be a female. He looked at her in disgust, and then decided it didn't matter. A female would fulfil the Dark Masters wishes just as well as a male would, and females were generally more viscous than males. Gaul put down the hatchling. She had jet black back scales and a dark pink underbelly. Two small, stubby hatchling horns grew from the top of her head and three smaller horns protruded from the side of her face. A silvery mark glittered on her brow and contrasted with the midnight black scales. Gaul stared at the symbol in wonder. It was like two quarter moons over a half moon and was unlike anything he had ever seen. A low ranking ape entered the room; a green flash illuminated the entire chamber and the ape was thrown into the hallway. Gaul was taking no chances; he and he alone would raise the hatchling. Firstly before anything else he had to name the hatchling but what. It was three hours later that the young dragoness woke up. Her emerald green eyes studied her surroundings with a scrutiny beyond most hatchlings.

After a while her stomach grumbled and she began to scratch around the floor as she looked for something to eat.. Gaul put a leash on her and tied to a hook on the wall before going to get something for them both to eat. He came back with a carcass of a deer and discovered that the dragoness had chewed threw the rope. He tore of a leg of the deer and threw it o her. She ate it as if the world would end tomorrow and was soon finished. Gaul finished his meal as well and looked at the hatchling again. Covered in blood she looked slightly evil and maniacal. No dragon likes to be mucky however so she set about licking herself clean. Gaul drifted off to sleep. He was awakened by something tapping his head. He looked up and saw the black hatchling bouncing up and down on his brow, playing with the matted grey fur. She was about to try and take his gemstone eye out of its socket when he threw her off. She landed heavily on the ground but got to her feet almost immediately. She looked up at Gaul sparkling eyes. Gaul held the gaze for a moment before jumping up in shock. The young dragoness sneezed and a crackling flame had shot out of her mouth and nostrils.

Gaul stared with his mouth open for a minute before saying…

"Fire huh? Well hatchling I name thee Cynder."

**This is an extended version of my chapter Cynder's story in The Legend of Spyro the Truth of purple. Black Cyrus gave me the idea to do it although I didn't do it at the time**


	2. First steps to Darkness

First Steps to Darkness

Cynder scrambled around Gaul's chamber to feel, smell, touch and see her surroundings. Gaul was trying to sleep but the clacking of Cynder's small silver hatchling claws on the stone floor, made it impossible. He stormed out of the chamber leaving Cynder to explore on her own. She poked her head into absolutely everything getting stuck on more than one occasion. The most serious of which involved her climbing onto Gaul's throne and getting her head stuck in one of the carved holes in it. She struggled for a bit but her little hatchling body had not the strength to escape. Gaul trudged back into the chamber and found her stuck. Looking at her with both his emerald eye and his normal one he pulled her roughly out of the hole. She squealed in pain and looked at Gaul with large pitiful green eyes.

Suddenly she began to squirm in his hand. He held her tightly which was a mistake, she burped and a burst of fire spurted from her mouth and burned Gaul's finger. He swore violently as he threw Cynder into the nest that her egg had been. Exhausted from her trapping in the throne and exploring in general, she promptly fell asleep. Gaul watched her for a while before falling asleep with a smile on his face _Malefor would be pleased._

Cynder stirred in her sleep as her young mind was besieged by a nightmare. A massive dark mountain loomed over her. She was standing on a large flat rock floating on the green water looking up at the mountain. Two moons were coming together and a heavy darkness was enveloping her. There was a flash of silver light and a deep roar. Cynder woke up with a jolt threw the twigs and leaves that made up her nest everywhere. She looked around in confusion

_Where was that place? Why did I go there? How did I go there? _These questions were too much for her young mind and she slowly drifted off into slumber.

Gaul had been watching intently. He whispered "She's ready."

He quietly slipped out of the room, taking his staff with him. He met an ape on the way, who bowed to him.

"Where are you bound your Majesty. Yet another meeting with our master, Malefor, perhaps?"

"DERKARTH CLORFUN!" roared Gaul, pointing his staff at the ape

There was a flash of green light and a strong gust of wind rushed through the hall. When the flash subsided the ape was lying crumpled on the floor at Gaul's feet… dead. Gaul then cast another spell that made him invisible before continuing to the very heart of the mountain… known as the Mountain of Malefor… or to him, the Well of Souls.

The Ape King stopped before a large dark purple door that hummed with Dark magic. He stared at it for a few minutes than began to chant under his breath.

"Master of Darkness, Banisher of Light. Your servant requests an audience."

Then he plunged his staff into a large gem the middle of the door. The staff slid through the gem as if it was water and the whole door rippled like a dark purple liquid. Slowly the door melted away revealing a large room with a dazzling beam of violet light shooting upwards, connecting the deepest pits opf the mountain with the sky. Gaul stabbed his staff into the ground. A deep gong like note reverberated around the chamber, a sound from ancient times, chilling and piercing.

Gaul stood back from the light and waited. A massive flare of purple fire blinded him as it shot skywards sending a ripple along the beam. A massive purple ghost of a dragon rose from the light and looked at Gaul with eyes full of evil and hatred. He was transparent but radiated a fraction of a much greater power. Gaul bowed his head.

"My Master… The dragoness… Cynder is ready for the first stage."

Malefor growled "So early?"

"She had a dream of her future. To wait will ruin this chance."

Malefor smiled "Very well… Do it in the morning. I see you named her. Yes the name suits her. And the fact that she is female will help me greatly in the future. When the pitiful dragons have fallen, a new breed will step forth."

Gaul bowed "My master, I will start the first stage as soon as Cynder wakes up. This is in our advantage. The sooner she is converted the more evil she will be and the less she will resist.

Malefor nodded. "It is nearly morning. Go back to your chamber then come back to me when phase one is complete."

Gaul bowed again before walking out of the chamber with a relieved look on his face. Malefor had not known about the ape and he was glad to get out of there, the evil that hung around that place sickened even him. Gaul prowled to his chamber, slipped inside quietly so as not to wake Cynder. The more sleep and rest she got the fitter she would be and the more likely it would be that she would survive the transformation she would undergo. Gaul sunk into his throne and fell asleep.

Meanwhile another egg lay abandoned in a cave. It was as silver the larger of the moons that watched over it. The two moons were perilously close together, the Night of Eternal Darkness was nigh. The egg wobbled once then stilled. The dragon inside this egg was connected through blood to the dragoness who had hatched from the black egg. The hatchling was not ready to face the world just yet but the moment in which it became ready would make it unique. No other dragon egg had ever or would ever hatch at this time again. A single hairline crack appeared in the egg allowing a sliver of silver light to flare from the inside.

Suddenly, Cynder's mark glowed silver before fading, unnoticed into darkness…

**OK. That's chapter 2. Can anyone guess who the dragon in the second egg is and when it will hatch? I thank everyone who has reviewed this story and all of my other ones. Forgive me that these chapters are shorter than usual but they will probably lengthen as the story goes on. Kindly rate this chapter out of ten.**


	3. The Night of Eternal Darkness

The Night of Eternal Darkness.

Cynder awoke to find Gaul still asleep. She raised her head and looked around; nothing had changed except that her bed was everywhere. She was about to sink back into sleep when Gaul jerked awake.

"Ah good Cynder, you are awake. Come with me."

He stood up and walked too the door. Cynder followed him willingly, _an adventure. _She thought as she followed Gaul out of the chamber. He led her to the same place he had been last night. This time, they were not apprehended. Gaul opened the door the same way he had before, Cynder watched him in wonder. _What was the big smelly monkey doing?_ She wondered. Gaul ushered her inside. She scuttled inside wondering what was in this room. She gasped at what she saw.

Cynder looked up to see if she could see the end of the massive beam of light that occupied the middle of the room. The purple beam seemed to continue forever through an opening in the mountaintop and into the darkness that seemed was slowly enveloping the mountain. The two moons were almost at an eclipse coming closer and closer. Any minute now the Night of Eternal Darkness would begin. The giant spectral form of Malefor rose up from the depths of the mountain. Cynder stared up at him with wonder and fear in her eyes. He looked at her with his piercing yellow eyes.

"Any time now the Night of Eternal Darkness will begin. _That _is when I shall begin the process_."_

Gaul bowed.

Meanwhile, miles away the silver egg was wobbling and cracking in earnest. Suddenly it stilled as if waiting for something just as the most evil purple dragon to walk the land was waiting for something. Suddenly the two moons came together and an evil shadow swallowed the land. Suddenly the egg shattered revealing a small black dragon at the same time as Malefor engulfed Cynder in dark purple flames. Cynder creamed in pain as the darkness coursed through her limbs, filling them with evil. She felt her legs, wings and tail lengthen and become much stronger and more delicate, than the stubby hatchling limbs. Her horns grew from blunt bumps into sharp weapons. Her tail blade grew into a scythe capable of slicing through scale flesh and bone with blades sprouted from the joint in each of her wings. Malefor ceased breathing the purple fire to see what had happened.

Cynder had been turned from a pitiful hatchling into an adolescent in under a minute. She flexed her long neck and whipped her long tail from side to side. Gaul looked in amazement at what had happened. Cynders eyes opened slowly and had lost their usual green hue . They were now silver and glistened like starlight. She whipped her head up to look at the eclipse that was now directly above them. Suddenly she spoke in a voice that was so soft it was like a feather rising on the wind.

"Where am I?"

Malefor answered "Greetings, Cynder. You are in the Heart of the Well of Souls. Go back to your chamber. I have something to discuss with Gaul."

She nodded and walked out of the chamber, her tail flicking behind her. When the door closed behind her she looked back. Her silver claws clacked on the cold floor as she walked. She walked unhindered and met no one on the way back to Gaul's chamber. When she saw the door she opened it. This was hard because the door was made for a creature with Gaul's size and strength. The darkness inside Cynder had enhanced her and she managed to push it open, a feat no other dragon her age would be able to do. As soon as she stepped inside her mark flashed silver and a white hot pain lashed across her forehead. Cynder's vision blurred and she saw a small dragon hatchling sitting beside a shattered silver egg. The vision faded as suddenly as it had come.

_Who was that hatchling? What was it? It was the same as me but what am I?_

Her silver eyes fell upon a book that had been placed hear her nest. She opened it and lay diown reading it. It was a book about dragons. She could read extremely quickly and soon found out that it was a book about dragons. When she saw an illustration she wondered aloud

"Is this what I am? A dragon?"

"Yes, Cynder. That is what you are." Gaul said

She jumped "You're back earlier than I expected. I suppose the big purple dragon didn't keep you long."

"No he didn't." he paused before asking "How do you feel?"

"Ill and confused. Why was my growth accelerated?"

"You will learn that in due course. You have been enhanced and are more powerful than any dragon your age should be. But it was done so quickly that it will take some getting used to."

"Yes Gaul." she whispered.

Cynder looked away from him and back at the book. _I have so many thoughts and so much knowledge bouncing around in my head it feels as if it's on fire. I'm a hatching with the body and thoughts of an adolescent. _She stared at the book trying to quiet her thoughts before deciding to go for a walk.

"Ehh Gaul?"

"Yes Cynder?"

"Can I go for a walk? I want to clear my head a bit."

"Yes you may, just don't be out to long. You need to socialise with the other apes anyway." The Ape king closed his eye and sank into his own thoughts.

She nodded and walked out of the room. Slowly she made her way through the mountain. Her thoughts bounced around in her skull and she soon found herself on the brink of tears,_ Why is this happening to me? _Hardly noticing where she was going she bumped headlong into a small ape around her size. He jumped around.

"Watch where you're going _dragon._" he yelled waving his fists at her.

She mumbled an apology before continuing on her way. The apes she passed looked at her with disgust and anger etched upon there faces. Cynder ignored them and concentrated on calming herself.

_Who were my mother and father? _she asked herself suddenly. _Gaul has been like a father to me ever since I hatched... which was yesterday. _she added bitterly _I wish I knew who my real mother and father was, and who that hatchling I saw in that vision is. He seems extremly important and... familiar which is impossible. _Tears threatened to overwhelm her again. She decided that the walk was only making her feel worse and decided to go back to the one place she felt safe. With a heavy heart and mind she walked back to Gaul's room with dragging feet and a drooping head.

When she reached the door she didn't have the strngth in her to push it open so she knocked on the black stone with her front talon and waited.

The door swung open to reveal a very irritated Gaul. His staff was in his hand and he glared about menacingly. His expression softened hoever, when he saw who it was.

"Cynder, you're back early."

"Yeah," she murmured "The walk didn't do me any good and most of the apes don't seem to like me."

Gaul looked at her but said nothing. He knew why the apes hated her and it was the same reason that he too had been reluctant to keep the dragon hatchling. Looking at her now melted his heart and he knew a feeling that he had lost years ago... affection and how to care for someone.

"I'm going to get some food. Do you want some?"

"No," she sighed "I'm not hungry."

With that Cynder curled up into a ball in her nest and closed her eyes. Gaul left the room but as he was shutting the door he heard a sob coming from the young dragoness alone in the room. The process hadn't worked properly and he was glad of it. Malefor was not pleased however. He had told Gaul to bring her back in one year to try again. Gaul looked at the door that concealed Cynder from his view...

"Perhaps," he said before walking to the food hall.

**There we go. Chapter 3. I hope you all like it. Yes I am going to make Gaul like Cynder and Cynder trust him. I don't really care if you don't like it but I'm open to suggestions. Please rate this chapter out of ten. Yes the hatchling in the egg was Slasher.**


	4. Why Me?

Why Me?

Cynder lay awake for hours until sleep overtook her. Her eyelids drooped and her limbs sagged. Grief and worry had sapped her strength and the comforting grip of sleep took over. She slept through the night and awoke only when a noise outside the room aroused her from the realm that sleep took her. She opened her eyes slowly then raised her head and looked at the door. Sounds of a disturbance emanated from behind the door. A chilling howl of pain made Cynder jump up into the air. She landed on her feet and through instinct raised her tail threateningly, its blade glinting menacingly in the eerie poisonous green light cast by the lanterns that hung upon juts in the rock walls.

She watched the door intently as it began to shake. A low growl escaped her throat before she could stop it. The noises stopped for a moment, and then suddenly the door flew open as an ape was thrown into it. Cynder leapt back to dodge the ape as it flew towards her. She whirled around to face another ape that had entered the room. It was a lot bigger than the ape it had thrown yet smaller than Gaul. Cynder looked up at it, taking in its broad shoulders and massive hands. Overall it was a brute and its small piggy eyes looked at her evilly.

Cynder snarled, seeming a lot braver than she felt. The ape lunged at her with his hands spread as if to grab her. She leapt out of the way and blasted a torrent of blazing orange flames at the ape who screeched in pain. The screech was high and painful to Cynder's sensitive ears; so much so she covered them with her wings. Seizing this advantage, the ape struck her with his fist in a punch that sent her careening through the room and into the wall. Dazed, Cynder awaited the final blow with a calm acceptance. Her life so far had been hell and she badly wanted it to end. She closed her eyes and waited for the finishing blow that would end her life and bring the empty darkness…

It never came. Cynder opened her eyes. The large ape commander was hovering in the air, his feet dangling five feet off the ground. Cynder thought for a moment he was going to fly until she saw who was holding him. Gaul had come back into the room and was now holding the ape at eye level. The ape was whimpering at the look of fury in Gaul's eye and begging for mercy. Gaul squeezed him even tighter and was about to snap his back in two when a soft voice whispered.

"No, don't,"

Gaul looked at Cynder who was looking at him with fear reflected in her silver eyes. Her entire body was shaking as if of cold and her eyes were glistening more than usual.

"Please."

Gaul lowered the ape to the floor and released his grip on him. The ape looked from Gaul to Cynder once before hurrying out of the chamber. Gaul watched him go. When he had closed the door behind him Gaul walked over and tapped it with his staff. Instantly the door glowed bright green before fading to normal. Cynder looked up at him wondering what was going to happen to her now. Gaul sat down on his throne then beckoned.

"Come up here and tell me what happened."

Cynder limped to the throne and crawled up onto Gaul's lap then proceeded to tell him how she had heard a commotion outside the door and how the small ape, who had crawled away when the large ape had focused on Cynder, had been thrown through the door. Next she told of how the larger ape had come in and attacked her. Finally her head dropped in shame as she got to the bit where the ape was going to kill her.

"I didn't resist. Part of me wanted it to end. I'm sorry."

Gaul lifted her chin up with his finger and made her look him right in the eye. Silver met blue and green as Gaul looked at the hatchling he had taken it upon himself to raise. She was changing him and right now, he didn't know if it was better or worse.

"Cynder, soon you will find out why this was brought upon you and when you do it will all seem worth it."

She nodded; her throat was too tight to speak. With visible effort she got off Gaul's lap and moved over to her nest which she had repaired yesterday. She made to lie in it then changed her mind… She unfolded her delicate pink wings and told Gaul that she was going for a flight. He didn't object. She flapped her wings and took off, flying straight through a small window in the ceiling, it was there to let in sunlight and fresh air but Cynder found another use for it.

As soon as she was out in the open air her mind cleared and the wind rushing past her face calmed her immensely. Flying was so easy it was wonderful. She had never been taught how to do it, somehow she just knew. Probably due to what had happened in the chamber with the big purple dragon. Folding her left wing made her barrel roll in that direction. Straightening it brought her level in the sky again. It surprised her just how important her tail was in flight. It helped her to keep her balance when she did a difficult manoeuvre.

Unbidden thoughts suddenly rushed into her head. This time however she didn't strive to block them out as she had all the others. This time she considered them.

Cynder's POV: Where did I come from? Why am I being put through this. My body was changed and enhanced but why? I know things that no dragon my age should know yet. How to fly and how to talk. What did the purple dragon thing do to me. What is this Night of Eternal Darkness I keep hearing of? Is that why the moons are together and everything is so dark. This mountain seems, evil. That's the only word I have for it. I'll never forget what I felt when I went into that room with the light. Even Gaul seemed pertrubed by that room. I wish I knew who my parents were, I don't know whether they were good, evil or what. Why was I taken from where I was and brought here when I was just an egg? I wish I knew why I keep seeing that dragon hatchling in my dreams. He seems incredibly important but I don't know. I don't know anything.

Normal POV: Cynder scratched her dark pink chest absent mindedly with her talon. She flew for a few more minutes before deciding it was time to head back. As she was turning around in the air, her mark flashed silver again and the Mountain of Malefor flashed before her eyes and was replaced by a cave near a stream. The dragon hatchling was sitting on a rock sucking his paw. He stayed there for a few moments until the rock glowed silver. Pain lashed across Cynder's chest which almost wrenched her from the vision but she held on. She wanted to know what was going to happen. The light grew brighter and brighter until she could not see the hatchling anymore but she could hear that it was squealing in distress. Suddenly the light pulsed so brightly that Cynder was wrenched from the vision and brought back to herself. She plummeted several feet before she could catch herself, her chest was hurting more than ever. She looked down to see a huge gash. Blood was spurting from it and her pink scales were now glistened like red rubies.

Cynder struggled to remain airborne as white spots appeared before her eyes. Slowly her limbs drooped and she felt her strength drain away even as the blood drained from her body. Her eyes grew cloudy and dim like dying flames. Her eyelids fell over her eyes just as her wings failed her and she plummeted down towards the ground. She dropped like a stone towards the cold hard unforgiving stone ground. She was a mere one hundred feet above the ground when there was a flash of green light. Cynder seemed to slow and she hit the ground softly, as if placed there by a large invisible hand. A massive shadow fell over her limp unconscious form...

Miles away the dragon from Cynder's vision stepped from the cave which was still engulfed in the silvery light. He was now the same size as Cynder. He looked at his new body in confusion.

He was very thin and lithe. His body was hard and compact. . His silver wings wings were now massive and shone so brightly that they looked like moonlight. His tail was also very large and powerful. A deadly silver, flame shaped tail blade flashed at its tip. His black scales shimmered as if shadows were trapped inside them. His underbelly was silver and shone like a polished sword. His eyes were silver, like Cynder's and twinkled in the darkness. His two horns were straight and silver and were patterned with three black bands apiece. On his silver chest was a black mark. It showed two moons coming together inside a black flame. On his forehead was the same mark that Cynder bore. His sharp silver claws tapped against the ground. A row of spikes ran along his back and tail. Looking around he found a fragment of his eggshell. He was about to kick it aside when he saw that something had been written on the outside surface.

_The dragon inside this egg shall be called Slasher._

**Well I hope you all liked chapter 4. I know I enjoyed writing it. Please rate it out of ten. And well done if you guessed the identity of the egg correctly.**

**Slasher**


	5. Take Care of My Daughter

Take care of my daughter.

Cynder awoke in unfamiliar surroundings. She was lying on a very soft bed made from a bag full of feathers and fur. Her chest burned when she tried to move so she gave up and looked around with her eyes. Her moonlight coloured eyes scanned the room; taking in every single detail possible. It was a lot cleaner than the rest of the mountain, numerous shining metal instruments hung on the walls. The room was brightly lit by the green flame lanterns that were common in the Mountain. There were many more of them than there were usually in the room. The walls were made of a black gemstone that reflected the green light and were so smooth that the light reflecting off of them was uncomfortably flat and even. The room had only one other occupant. An Ape Healer noticed that Cynder was awake and hurried over to her. He checked her injury which had not been bandaged but had stopped bleeding evidently not long ago considering that the bed Cynder was lying on was red with blood. Apparently pleased he walked out of the door at the far end of the room.

Sighing Cynder tried to raise her head but this made her feel faint. Her head flopped back down upon the bed and a cold weakness spread through her body. She lay there for a few minutes in the calm silence until she heard the door open and voices whispering to each other.

"It doesn't help that she hasn't eaten in a while," said the Healer Ape.

Gaul answered "I know it doesn't but will she be OK?" the anxiety in his voice surprised even him.

"Yes probably, she's strong."

Gaul nodded and walked over to Cynder's bed. The Healer ape retreated as far away from the bed as possible. Gaul leaned closer to Cynder and asked.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine," she murmured

"What happened?"

"Well I had a vision, then I felt a pain in my chest but I ignored it. When I came back to myself I had this gash and I have no idea what did it. Then I fainted and fell out of the air. I should have died the height I was at. Why didn't I?"

"Because Cynder, I slowed your descent with magic."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Well then I guess I owe you my life."

Gaul didn't answer but instead looked away from her and up at the ceiling. Cynder began to hum softly then thought of a question she had wanted to ask Gaul.

"Gaul, I keep having visions about this dragon. He was a hatchling and he had the same mark on his head that I do and another one on his chest. This one was different."

"Tell me if you have any more of these visions."

She nodded and Gaul walked out of the room. He stalked back to his study. His mind bursting with questions. The first thing he would have to do was find out what Cynder's mark meant. Then if he could find out what the other mark that this dragon had meant. He got back into his chamber closed the door and looked around. What he saw nearly made him cry out in shock.

A massive black dragoness was standing in the middle of the room. The scales on her back were jet black and her underbelly was midnight blue. Each scale sparkled in the dim light and were as hard as steel. Her wings were dark blue and very large, and devoid of blades. They were torn and shredded but were still enough to carry her wight in the air. Her white claws were blunt from walking and stood out on her black paws. Her horns were bue and spiralled above her eyes which were covered with a black cloth. Her long tail swished back and forth nervously and bore a scythe like blade. Overall she bore a striking resemblance to Cynder.

"Who are you?" asked Gaul

The dragoness said nothing but reached up and removed the cloth from around her eyes. They scales around them were burned and destroyed. The way he eyes focused on nothing made Gaul's gut squirm. _She was blind._ Gaul looked at her eyes intently. They were bright blue and had a twinkle in them that was oddly familiar. That and her appearance made Gaul realise who he faced.

"You're Cynder's mother."

She nodded "I am. My name is Midnight. And yours would be, ape?

"Gaul. Why have you come here?"

"To give you something that I want you to give to my daughter, Cynder-"

"How do you know her name."

"I wrenched all the information I know from the mind of an ape who was foolish enough to try and apprehend me,"

Gaul nodded "And what do you want me to give to her?"

With difficulty she reached into a pouch on her leg. Gaul made a move to help her. Cynder had widened his view on dragons immensely but Midnight seemed to have found what she was looking for. She removed her paw from the pouch and was holding a thin silver bracelet studded with dark pink gemstones. It seemed to be made of three bands wound around each other and shone with a brilliance that no metal was thought capable of. Small intricate engravings criss crossed along the surface and on the inside were the words.

_To my daughter who I am proud of even though I cannot take care of you._

Gaul took the bracelet and said quietly. "I will give it to her as soon as she returns from the Medical Wing. Do you want to see her?"

Midnight shook her head "No I have something else to do, then I fear that my next task will shorten my life considerably."

She put the black cloth back over her eyes. "You have a good soul Gaul, even if I would never have believed it of your kind. Goodbye."

And without further ado she teleported, leaving Gaul to ponder on her words.

Meanwhile Slasher was holding a bracelet nearly identical to the one Gaul was holding. This one however had sapphire stones instead of pink and said son instead of daughter. He didn't put it on his wrist yet because something in his head told him not to. He scratched his chest which was burning with pain but he did not know why. His mother had told him to seek out the holder of a bracelet similar to his then disappeared. He was extremely confused. He had endured fourteen years of growth in a split second and ever since a female dragon had been flshing behind his eyes every so often. She wasn't doing anything. An image of her just flashed in his mind for a split second before disappearing.

Slasher flicked his tail in annoyance. Darkness was pulsing through his veins and driving him insane with pain. He had been told by his mother that ha had been born at the very moment the the moons had come together and this gave him powers that most dragons would never have and that he was destined for great things. This news disturbed him a little, _did he have no choice in the matter? _He started walking along the river away from the massive mountain that loomed in the distance.

Cynder was feeling well enough to sit up and look around. The Healer told her she could leave tomorrow which pleased her greatly, she hated sitting around. Gaul had brought the book of dragon's for her to read. Sighing she opened it and began to read hoping to learn more of her kind. She found a chapter which interested her greatly. It was about Dragons of Darkness. This alone wouldn't have interested her but on the start of the chapter was a large black dragon with the same mark on its forehead as she and the dragon from her visions had. Eagerly she began to read.

**I'm going to leave it there because I want to do this properly and to do so would make this chapter too long. Please review. Come on, hit the little button. It's not too much to ask is it? Thanks to Shikacynyruto, Luna345 Black Cyrus and Cynderfrost for reviewing. Slasher is going to have a very big role in this story. i'm trying to create a connection between Cynder and Slasher. Tell me if you approve or otherwise. Again rate this cap out of ten**

**Slasher**


	6. Dark Fire?

Dark Fire?

Cynder read the book slowly, trying to take in and understand every detail. It said that the Dragon of Darkness was one of the most powerful dragons, falling below only the Purple Dragon and even worse, a mixture of the two. She read about what happened when a Purple Dragon was also a Dragon of Darkness. A massive picture filled an entire page. It showed a dark purple dragon with three large thick bronze horns on his head. His sides were adorned with massive lethal spikes at least three feet long. His wings were dark reddish purple and very tattered. He was massive and even the picture radiated a sense of power. His eyes were bright hypnotic yellow and had slits for pupils. On the tip of his tail was a massive structure of spikes that looked brutal and could obviously inflict a lot of damage. Across the bottom of the picture, below massive paws with sharp hooked talons, was the name… Malefor.

Cynder read on and found out that Malefor had been trained in all of the elements and had then betrayed his elders. He created an army of apes to destroy the dragons but failed. He was then locked in convexity by a dragon elder whose name was not mentioned. Cynder gasped.

"Malefor… This mountain is called the mountain of Malefor and that dragon in the picture looks a lot like the dragon that came out of that light beam… maybe."

She closed the book, not wanting to read any more until she found out the truth. The Healer Ape walked over and checked her injury closely and told her to get up and walk. She did so despite the pains in her chest. Slowly she walked around the room once then looked at the Healer.

"You're free to go, but don't strain yourself or you'll just end up back here!" he said sternly

She nodded and walked out of the room trying to find her way back to Gaul's chamber. She had never been in this part of the mountain before and was getting increasingly agitated. She hadn't met any apes which in her eyes was a good thing. She found a door which she decided to try and immediately regretted it. Behind it was a large, very irritated ape. Cynder froze as his dark beady eyes were fixed upon her. An evil grin spread across his face showing rotting broken teeth. He charged at Cynder who leapt to the side to dodge him. White hot pain lanced through her chest causing her to stumble. The ape took advantage of this and grabbed her tail, breaking it. She screamed in pain, something the ape relished. He was big even for a commander and was from the Mountain making him stronger than the one from Dante's Freezer that had attacked her before. She slashed at his armour with her front paw but her talons just glanced off creating an eerie ringing sound. The ape laughed and kicked Cynder across the room. Suddenly she found herself in the same position as last time, at the mercy of the ape, unable to do anything. This time, however, Gaul was not around to save her. She was going to die. Suddenly something deep within her stirred and her mark glowed brightly. A female voice reverberated around the room causing the ape to pause with an axe raised above his head.

_The power of fire is considerable but Dark Fire will serve you better Cynder, Dragoness of Darkness._

Cynder closed her eyes and felt power flow through her, power she had never felt before. She felt all of her injuries heal until she was as good as new. The ape stared in wonder then was about to bring the axe down upon Cynder. She opened her eyes opened her jaws, from between which billowed a torrent of black flames tinged with gold. The flames engulfed the ape and killed him before he hit the ground. Gaul walked into the chamber and stared at Cynder with amazement and _fear _in his one real eye, the gemstone looked the same as ever. He looked at the dead ape and then back at Cynder.

"Dark Fire," he breathed

"Gaul I didn't mean to do it, it just happened. There was a voice that said 'The Power of Fire is considerable but Dark Fire will serve you better Cynder, Dragoness of Darkness'. How did it know my name?"

"I don't know, I see you have recovered anyway."

She nodded, looking away from him. She wanted to talk to him about what she had read in the book but Gaul stopped her just as she opened her mouth.

"I have something that someone gave me to give to you. She also left a message," he refrained from mentioning that it was her mother in case it hurt and confused her.

Cynder looked at the ape but said nothing. Gaul took out the bracelet and gave it to her. Cynder took it in her paw and examined it.

"My mother gave you this didn't she?"

Gaul could have kicked himself, the bracelet said daughter, only an idiot wouldn't notice and Cynder was no idiot. She smiled at him before putting it on her right wrist. Gaul smiled back.

At that same moment Slasher roared as the mark on his forehead burned. He saw a vision of the black dragoness putting on a bracelet almost the same as his. When his mind cleared and he returned to himself he put the bracelet, which he had hung on one of his back spikes, on his left wrist.

Gaul said "Do you want the message now or later?"

Cynder thought for a minute "Now, please."

"She left a message on the inside of he bracelet which you have no doubt read but she told me to tell you to seek out the bearer of a similar bracelet except with blue gemstones instead of pink."

Cynder nodded.

"I found out what my mark means in that book of dragons. It means I'm a Dragon of Darkness which is what the voice said except she said Dragoness of Darkness which just means a female dragon.,"

She said it so matter-of-factly Gaul laughed. In the end she joined in. Cynder recovered first and whispered

"What does it mean to be a Dragon of Darkness?"

Gaul heard her "I have no idea, did you bring the book?"

She pointed with her tail which had been broken only minutes before. Gaul picked it up and put it under his arm.

"Come on, let's go outside,"

Cynder flared her wings in surprise "Why? It's so dark out."

Gaul nodded "I know but something is going to happen soon that I want you to see. It's an amazing and magical event. Though many apes find it pointless but I have been around longer than any of them and am beginning to think more clearly, a lot of that is down to you Cynder."

She looked at him in surprise. "How, what did I do?

"That is a story for another time. Come on or we'll miss it."

Cynder walked beside Gaul and made up her mind not to ask him about Malefor yet. Something was on her mind and wouldn't go away. Gaul seemed different from all the other apes. She couldn't put her claw on what made him different yet but it was still in the back of her mind. Neither she nor Gaul spoke until they reached the entrance, ore exit in this case of the mountain. It looked so strange that many apes stared at them. Gaul the Ape King who despised dragons was now walking outside with a small dragoness who he could crush with one hand. Gaul pushed open the massive stone doors. Cynder noticed that a large carving of a dragon head with three horns on it's head decorated the doors. Why was this dragon cropping up everywhere?

A cool breeze splashed against Cynder's face as Gaul opened the door. She stepped out into the open and Gaul closed the doors behind them. Gaul motioned with his hand to the top of the mountain. Cynder looked at him and he nodded so Cynder began to climb the mountain her sharp claws digging into the rock. Gaul looked at her

"What are your wings for?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

Gaul smirked and teleported up to the top. Cynder shook her head before continuing to scramble up the gashes covered her paws by the time she reached the top. Gaul laughed again. Cynder ignored him and looked up at the sky as she asked

"Why are we here?"

"Any minute now," said Gaul

Suddenly the two moons seperated from each other and the black sky became a deep purple, then dark blue and finally the light blue it usually was at this time in the day. A ripple of energy passed through Cynder as it raced across the land. Gaul had been staring up at the sky too and without moving his gaze whispered

"I don't know why but I find this moment the most precious in the world."

A lot of other creatures do too I bet," whispered Cynder.

Gaul nodded

Slasher had also been looking up at the sky when the eclipse had ended and felt the power rush through him. He looked at the mountain that he had been moving away from, suddenly feeling a pull as if something was drawing him towards did not know what made him do it but he began to walk towards it. He had walked for five minutes when a group of apes blaocked him. The lead ape giggled maniacly

"Well look what we have here. A dragon... Oh hoh Gaul will be pleased."

The apes surrounded Slasher who merely sat down.

"Not going to defend yourself." sneered the ape "Well, since you don't stand a chance it's probably the best thing you're puny draconic brain could think of. Get 'im ."

As one the apes lunged at Slasher, piling on top of him. The ape leader who had hung back laughed and waved his blade in the air.

"Hahahahahaha. This proves that we of the Volcano clan are the best apes ever.... WHAT?"

There was a flash of silver and the apes were thrown off of Slasher. They got up quickly however and charged him again. Three fell under his thrashing tail, decapitated. Another five were lost in a withering blaze of silver fire that wounded several others. The remaining ten apes along with the leader fled as though Malefor himself was chasing them. They didn't get far. A flare of black fire erupted from the ground killing them instantly. Slasher looked in surprise at the flames which still burned. Suddenly an image appeared in them.

_He was fighting a massive black dragoness. She swung her long whiplike tail at him. He dodged it and slashed her throat with his claws. She fell to the floor bleeding badly. He, Slasher watched as the light faded from her eyes and her chest stopped moving._

The image faded leaving Slasher extremely confused. The black fire dissipated and Slasher continued towards the Mountain of Malefor, walking slowly so he could think.

"What was all that about?" he whispered to himself.

Cynder suddenly stiffened. She had seen the entire thing that had happened to the black dragon including what he had seen in the fire. She didn't mentioned it to Gaul and assured him she was fine when he asked. This was something she wanted to ponder herself.

**I hope you all enjoyed chapter 6. I enjoyed writing it. Next chapter a lot more will happen as a time skip will take place.**

**Slasher**


	7. Time Skip and Meeting

Time Skip and Meeting

Five months had passed. Cynder had grown another foot in length and six inches in height. Everything about her had become harder and more lethal. She still remained the same young dragoness who always seemed to get into trouble, according to Gaul. He was right though. To date she had got into at least one spot of bother everyday. She had also found that she had an unusual talent for a dragon, drawing. Gaul had began to put her through hard fighting training so that if she was attacked she would be able to defend herself and not rely on luck. One time the training was particularly intense and Cynder had broken her tail while smacking a target. She had been stuck with nothing to do for a week and had scratched a drawing of the mountain on a stone plate. Gaul came in while she was doing it and was amazed. He had almost fell over he was so shocked. Now she had her own chamber which was situated right next to Gaul's and full of paper and drawing implements. It also had window with an unobstructed view of the horizon.

Mealtimes were getting very stressful, however. She was eating with the other apes who were determined to stop her from eating. They ganged up on her, beating her until she was unconcious and made sure they ate every single scrap of food, no matter how small. She put up with it however and never complained to anyone no matter how hungry she was. A few times she had fainted while training with Gaul but refused to tell him why. He didn't want him to think her weak as all the other apes did. The only thing keeping her on her feet sometimes was her determination and the darkness inside her.

Cynder was also beginning to have mood swings. One minute she would be fine then the next she was so angry her tail destroyed everything within reach even as she glared daggers at whoever irritated her. No lone ape would go near her, they always had to be in pairs or groups. When she was angry she never raised her voice, which unnerved the apes, even the very biggest of them. Gaul was beginning to worry about her, but guessed that it was just a stage dragons went through at this age.

Only one thing worried her, the black dragon. She had had no more visions about him which worried her a little. She had also not found out what being a Dragon of Darkness meant. The book only gave a very brief introduction then listed natable Dragons of Darkness from history. Most of them had been evil which worried Cynder. Gaul had refused to speak about Malefor giving her the age old excuse "When you're older." Cynder had just decided to leave the subject for the time being.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Cynder was lying in her room with a stick of charcoal in her claws. She was having a hard time thinking of what to draw, which was unusual as inspiration usually came to her early. She decided on drawing Gaul who was in his room doing what, she didn't know. She was about to begin drawing when a noise above her made her stop. It was a scratching not unlike a mouse scuttling along the floor except this was a a lot bigger than a mouse. Cynder stood up wearily, she had just been training with Gaul and was exhausted. The scratching grew louder as if whatever it was, was getting closer. Cynder looked up at the ceiling where the scratching seemed to be coming from. Suddenly it stopped. Cynder continued to stare up at the ceiling.  
BOOM!  
The celing shook and cracked. small flakes of rock and dust fell on top of Cynder. She shook herself and looked up again. Her only reward was a mouthful of dust and a stinging eye. She blinked rapidly trying to extract the dust particles from her eye. Cynder pressed herself against the wall to avoid dust showers. This was lucky as at that instant there was a flash of silver that blasted the entire ceiling into tiny harmless fragments.

A small black dragon dropped from the now non existent ceiling. He looked at Cynder with silver eyes. Cynder snarled at him showing all of her sharp glistening teeth. She raised her tail blade and crouched low to the ground as Gaul had taug her The black dragon didn't even bat an eyelid. Cynder growled threateningly then said.

"Who are you?"

He didn't answer but flapped his massive silver wings once clearing away the dust. Cynder stared at him and saw upon his forehead, a mark identical to hers. She looked at him for a few more seconds then realised, her eyes widened. It was the dragon from her visions! She lowered her tail a fraction. The dragon looked at her with surprise weaving it's way across his face. Their marks began to glow and burn. Cynder clapped a paw to her forehead and closed her eyes in pain. Slasher was doing the exact same thing. Cynder screamed as the pain intensified. Suddenly the room swirled and dissolved before Cynder.

_Two eggs were sitting side by side in a nest, a black egg and a silver one. Suddenly a flash of black flame engulfed the black one as silver lightning covered the silver egg. There was a flash of white light and two hatcling appeared. One was female and black with a pink underbelly. The male was black with a silver underbelly. A massive shadowy figure took Cynder away from the nest and left the small hatchling alone. A river appeared and washed the male away from the nest into a cave. The female was taken to a small rock that turned into a mountain. The male looked up at the mountain. Then both were together again standing on a mound of rock with the Mountain of Malefor in the background. The two grew into cynder and Slasher. With a flash of green light Cynder and Slasher were thrown back into themselves._

Cynder and Slasher stared at each other. Now each of them knew who they faced.

**I decided to leave it there because I thought it was a good place to finish the chapter. A big thanks has to go to Luna345 in this chapter who helped me out when I was stuck for what to write. Thanks Luna.**

**PLEASE hit the little green button called a review button.**

**or I'll set Amethyst on you.**

**Slasher**


	8. Slasher Dragon of Darkness

Slasher Dragon of Darkness

Cynder whispered "You're my brother,"

Slasher nodded "It would seem so. What's your name? Mine's is Slasher."

"Cynder, pleased to meet you."

Slasher smiled slightly and stretched out on the floor before curling up with his head on his paws. He yawned exposing fangs as sharp as daggers. Cynder began to pace around the room. Suddenly she stopped and looked at the bracelet on her wrist and looked at Slasher's wrist.

"You have the same bracelet as me,"

he looked down and whispered "It was given to me by my mother."

"Mine was given to Gaul to give to me by my mother."

"Who's Gaul?"

"An ape who has been raising me. I can introduce you if you like,"

"Might as well. You're bursting to do it."

Cynder blushed as she ran into Gaul's room. Gaul was reading a book on Conquesting when Cynder ran in. Her claws screeched on the black stone floor as she skidded to a halt. Gaul dropped the book he was holding in surprise. With a bang the thick tome hit the rock floor.

"Cynder what is it?" asked Gaul leaping from his chair

"There's someone you have to meet come on." she was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement. Her long, sinious tail wriggled and lashed as she fought to keep still. Gaul sighed heavily and made a noise that sounded strangely like "Kids"

"Come on then," chuckled Gaul.

Cynder was out of the room in a flash, barely opening the door, there was only enough space for her tosqueeze through. Gaul hooked his hand around the heavy door and heaved it open. Cynder had left her door open so she ran straight through it. Slasher had been looking at the doorway intently but was too slow to evade Cynder as she cannoned into him. The two dragons were a black tangle of tails wings and limbs. Slasher managed to extract himself from Cynder. The two dragons stood up and faced Gaul. Cynder eyes were twinkling in excitement, Slasher's were fearful and his body was tense. Gaul looked at him for a few moments and a thick dense silence followed.

"Gaul this is Slasher, my brother." whispered Cynder

Gaul said nothing but walked out of the room. When he came back he was holding his staff in his hand. Cynder looked at Gaul then the staff then at Slasher not knowing what to do. Slasher stared at the glowing green crystal, flexing his long sharp talons. Gaul muttered an inaudible spell and Slasherbrought his massive wings in front of his body to try and black it. The spell struck his wings and splashed over their surface like green water. The green light covered Slasher's body in seconds. Slasher gasped in pain. The spell hadn't just went over him it had went through him as well. His veins and muscles were filled with an unbearable fiery pain. After ,what seemed to Slasher as hours, but was really only a few minutes, the light came out of Slasher and flew to Gaul's hand.

Slasher shuddered as the light came out of him. It was like a white hot blade being extracted from his gut. He collapsed like a lifeless lump of scale and bone on the ground When he had recovered he asked

"What was that supposed to do. Besides hurt!" he snapped at the end.

"Well it proved that you are siblings without a shadow of a doubt,"

Cynder looked at them "Well this is wierd," she stated simply.

Slasher looked at her "How so?"

"Being bigger than my older brother."

Slasher looked at her with his mouth open in surprise. He regained his composure and said "That was random, and I'm a lot younger than I look."

"I'm five months old roughly,"

"When did the Night of Eternal Darkness start?" asked Slasher

Gaul was warming up to the dragon already. He was like his sister in many way but didn't have her habit for pointing out the obvious. "Five months and three days ago... why?"

"Then that is my exact age. According to my mother I was born at the exact moment the eclipse began."

Gaul stared at him "But no creature is ever born on the Night of Eternal Darkness. It's almost a law of nature, it's impossible."

"That means I'm older than you," piped up Cynder.

Slasher and Gaul rolled their eyes. She grinned sheepishly but continued speaking "What's that mark on your chest all about Slash."

"Slash?" he asked raising an eyebrow (or the dragon equivalent)

She shrugged but didn't say anything. Slasher yawned "I don't know what this mark means," he said tapping his chest "But this one means I'm a Dragon of Darkness," he tapped his head

"Who told you that?" asked Gaul

"Mother" He unfurled his wings and stretched them. This revealed that he was painfully thin and looked like a skeleton with skin and scales stretched over it. Gaul and Cynder decided not to comment but looked at each other.

"Is anyone hungry, asked Gaul. I know I am.

Slasher and Cynder both nodded. Gaul walked out of the room. Slasher walked over to the window and looked out at the darkening sky. Without turning he asked

"Do you know why you're egg was taken."

Cynder shook her head "No I don't and I've never asked."

"I think you should," said Slasher simply.

"I will then." she said and joined him at the window. "How did you get in here and why?"

"I found a tunnel just big enough for me and slipped inside of it. As for why I really have no idea. Something pulled me towards this mountain. It was really strange. The harder I fought and the further away I moved the stronger the impulse became. in the end I just decided to come and that's when I found you," he answered

"Do you know what a dragon of Darkness is? I read a book but it never told me anything,"

"No I don't"

Gaul walked in and placed a deer in front of the two dragons. Slasher stared at Gaul for a minute before eating. He ate slowly, which was a surprise as he looked starved. Cynder ate all she could then asked Gaul.

"Gaul, why was my egg brought here?"

Gaul finished eating what was in his mouth then strode over to the door. He locked it with a spell that flowed over the walls giving them a poisonous green sheen. Satisfied he sat down on the floor facing the two dragons. Cynder looked at him in surprise.

"There, the room has been sealed and soundproofed. I don't want anyone overhearing what I am about to tell you. Now Cynder I was wondering when you were going to ask that and I wish I didn't have to tell you but I have decided that you must know. Don't interrupt with questions as you usually do. Now. What you read in the book about Malefor was true. He tried to destroy the world by ressurecting the destroyer and building an army of all manner of Dark Creatures, including apes. The dragons exiled him and he waged war against his own kind. The apes were crushed, all but one were destroyed. The one who wasn't is me. I am the last true ape. The rest have been created by Malefor from Spirit Gems. These new apes were stronger but were still no match for the dragons. Malefor killed the leader of the dragons at the time which put the dragons into disarray for a short time, thus allowing Malefor to gain the upper hand.

Realising that it would be impossible to kill him the guardians of the four cleansed elements locked Malefor away in a place called convexity. Only one born in the year of the dragon can free him and he wants you to do it. The process is simple. He will make you evil as he has already tried to do and will send you out to drain the Guardians' power."

"Malefor tried to turn me evil?" asked a disgusted Cynder when Gaul had paused.

"Yes he did. I was all for helping him... Before I got to know you. Malefor wants to destroy the dragons and create a new breed sired by him. He calls them Dark Dragons or will if they are ever created. I used to despise dragons for what they did to my race but ever since I met you Cynder my views have changed. I also decided that the apes were more at fault than the dragons as the dragons were just defending theirselves from us, who attacked first."

Slasher whispered "Are you going to go through with Malefor's plan because if you are," he stood up and clacked his deadly hooked talons against the ground. A fire had appeared in his eyes and Gaul knew what he was going to say next. Slasher continued in a whisper but his voice became as cold as ice and menacing

"Then I'll stop you. No matter the cost."

Gaul shook his head "Of course I'm not going to go through with the plan."

He looked at Cynder who was looking up at him with teary eyes. He sighed

"You changed me Cynder, for the better. I'm going to help you escape from this mountain. I made my mind up about that last night. Now that Slasher is here he will be able to help you."

Slasher let all of his muscles relax again and sat down. He looked up at Gaul with a smile

"You strike me as honourable and true, if Cynder trusts you" he looked at her. Cynder nodded as her throat felt as if it was clogged with tar.

"Then so do I,"

"How am I going to disappear without everyone noticing," choked Cynder

Gaul looked at her and saw that she was crying. Tears like liquid crystal ran down her balck cheeks ans she was shaking uncontollably. She looked away from the ape then struggled to get the words out as she murmured "I don't want to help Malefor destroy my race but I don't want to leave the only hamo I've ever known either."

She sniffed and Slasher put one of his huge wings over her. She cried for an hour into Slasher's chest, which soon became wet with tears. Slasher, not knowing quite what to do, rubbed her head softly.

Finally Cynder looked up and she was full of determination "You'll need to stay Gaul, otherwise everybody will get suspicous."

The ape nodded his head slowly. Slasher stood up "When do we do it?"

"Tonight," answered Gaul. "As soon as the night is at it's darkest."

**I hope y'all liked Chapter 8. I enjoyed writing it. Please hit the review button. As Amethyst didn't create much of an impression**

**"I can't help it if I'm too friendly**

**No I guess not. Please review or I'll let Darkwrath loose on you. Something hehas been dying to do for ages. He's trying to kill me as I've only mentioned him once in my stories but there you go**

**Darkwrath- Let me at em**

**Again please hit the little green button. It's not hard is it.**

**Slasher**


	9. Time to Leave

Time to Leave

It took roughly an hour for Cynder and Slasher to be ready to leave. Gaul helped the two dragons ready themselves. He gave Cynder a set of dragon armour that he had made himself. She immediatly put it on so they would not have to carry it. Gaul apologised to Slasher for only having made one set and that there was no time to make another. Slasher smiled and said the armour would only slow him anyway. Gaul looked at the night sky and said

"You should leave now. Do you have everything you need?"

Cynder nodded then ran over and hugged Gaul tightly. The two stayed like that until Slasher hissed urgently

"Hurry up, please. I don't like this one bit."

Cynder felt something being pressed into one of her talons as she and Gaul parted. Cynder sniffed as she walked away from Gaul, tears that she was determined not to shed clung to her eyelashes (I don't know if dragon's have any but there you go.) Gaul whispered huskily

"You two had better go."

Slasher nodded and with a blow from his tail shattered the large window. The glass fell to the floor with a loud tinkiling noise and everyone was fervently glad that the room was soundproofed. Unfurling his massive wings Slasher flew out of the window. He hovered to wait on Cynder who looked at Gaul one last time before launching herself out of the window. Gaul strode over to the shattered window and watched the two dragons fly off into the distance. When the darkness had swallowed their black forms Gaul repaired the window with a spell then walked out of the room. Just as he was about to closethe door behind him he looked around the room with a tear in his eye.

Cynder felt her wings shaking with grief so badly it took all her strength just to remain airborne. The night was clear and still, the two moons watched them as they left the mountain behind. The black armour Gaul had given Cynder was weighing down her body but even a ten tonne weight could not compete with the feeling that was weighing down on her heart.

_Would she ever see Gaul again and what would happen now?_

Cynder and Slasher flew for the rest of the night and through the next day. Finally Cynder's wings burned as if hot knives were being plunged into them. Speaking for the first time since they had set out she said

"Slasher I have to stop."

He nodded and shortened his wingspan, spiralling towards the ground. Cynder angled herself toward the ground. The two dragons landed at the same time. Cynder collapsed on the ground her body trembling with both exhaustion and sadness. Tears streamed from her eyes and ran like diamond rivers down her cheeks and onto the ground. Slasher put his wing on her shoulder but doubted she felt it, absorbed in grief as she was. After five minutes Cynder stood up and looked around. They had landed in a small forest clearing that was cluttered with wild flowers that gave off a sweet scent neither of the dragons had smelled before. Cynder had landed on a patch of grass and moss.

"Now what do we have to do?" she whispered shakily.

Slasher stood up also. He looked at Cynder, his normally hard silver eyes were soft and kind.

"Wait here and rest. You might want to take that armour off too."

She nodded and began to take her armour off. When she was finished she carefully laid the armour in a pile next to her and laid down. It was a lot more comfortable without the armour she had to admit to herself. Slasher came back with the bloody carcass of a deer in his mouth. He laid it next to Cynder and walked away fto the edge of the clearing they had landed in where he curled up under a boulder

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked

"Yeah but I'll wait for you to finish."

"Don't be ridiculous," she scorned and patted the ground next to her with her tail blade.

Slasher padded soundlessly on the soft grass and laid down next to her. Cynder smiled at him before starting to eat the deer. Hesitantly Slasher joined in. When both had eaten all they could, Cynder ate a lot more than Slasher, Slasher blew the remains of the deer into the forest with a gust of wind that he shot from his mouth. Cynder looked at him

"What was our mother like?" she asked quietly

Slasher thought for a moment before answering. When he did his voice was so light and soft Cynder had to strain to hear him, even ethough she was right next to him.

"She looked like you, but older, with dark blue instead of pink. She was blind but still managed and was so reassuring she made me feel safe at once."

"I wish I could have met her?"

"I only met her once and for a brief while. She said that one day both of us would meet her. "

Slasher paused then drew a deep breath and asked "What was Gaul like."

"He was so amazing I can't describe him in words. He was a bit, standoffish at first, probably because of his dislike for dragons. He was the dad I never had. Will we ever be able to go back there?" she asked, her voice trembled again

"I hope so... Yes we will, and I don't care if I have to kill Malefor for that to happen." he said "But for now... Gaul wouldn't want you to fall to pieces OK?"

She nodded and smiled again. "Thank you Slasher."

The Dragon of Darkness looked at his sister with a twinkle of pride in his eyes. Cynder asked

"Slasher, will you spar with me. It's something I usually do with... Gaul every night."

He nodded "If you wish"

Cynder moved into the ready stance Gaul had taught her. Slasher was ten paces away from her with his wings raised and his tail curled around himself. Cynder lashed her tail out with lightning speed but was dismayed when Slasher's wing stopped it in it's tracks. Quickly, she charged at Slasher who was struck by the attck and sent flying backwards. He righted himself and his claws screeched across the ground as he made an effort to stop himself going backwards. His body burned where she had struck him. With a giant leap he burst forwards and retaliated with a kick from his back paw. Cynder yelped in pain as the attack hit it's mark and she was thrown off blance. For a wierd moment she struggled to regain her balance. Flapping her wings wildly she steadied herself and swung ong of jer wings at Slasher. The pink wing was parried by the larger silver one, the two wing blades collided in a metallic clang that rang in the dragons ears. Slasher suddenly whipped his tail into Cynder's side and knocked her over.

_WOAH! He's strong _

A second tail attck followed an instant later

_And fast! _she thought as she dodged the attck. Cynder punched him in the chest and scrambled to her feet. The two dragons looked at each other and grinned. They charged each other and met in a flurry of flashing wings tails and talons. They constantly attacked each other with their wings tails and paws, being careful to keep the blades and talons turned away. The match became an incomprehensible jumble of action and reaction. Sweat poured from the two dragons which made the strikes begin to slide off. Cynder was about to strike Slasher with a paw when he yelled breathlessly

"Enough!"

Cynder stopped mid strike and let her arm fall limply to the ground. The two siblings smiled at each other

"That was fun," acknowledged Cynder, still panting

"Aye it was. You're really good," said Slasher

"As are you. That was the fiercest foight I've been in. Shall we do it every night?"

"Yeah, now that we're away from the Mountain of _Malefor,"_ he spat the last word. "We don't have to go all day and night."

"Let's get some sleep now," yawned Cynder "I'm exhausted,"

Slasher smiled weakly, he was too. The two dragons curled against each other, Slasher draped one of his moonlight coloured wings over Cynder. She placed one of her pink wings over Slasher and the two dragons pomptly fell asleep under the stars that watched over them.

**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things will begin to get more exciting from now on and a few truths will be unveiled**

**Cynder- "Don't give away the whole story"**

**I won't. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. This story will be rather long and I hope it's not to slow for you all**

**Slasher**


	10. Run

Run

Cynder woke up early with the sun streaming onto her face. Cynder moved herself from under Slasher's wing carefully, trying not to wake him.

"Morning Cynder," said Slasher as he stood up.

He yawned and stretched like a cat. When he had finished he grinned "You're turn to hunt."

"Slasher, why do you hardly eat anything?"

"I don't need to," he stated simply."

She looked confused but didn't press the subject. She was about to go hunting when Slasher sniffed the air.

"Cynder, stay here," he whispered "And keep your voice down"

"Why?" she asked quietly

"There is something near us I don't like the smell of. My dragon instincts tell me to get as far awy from it as possible."

Cynder looked at him, it was then he noticed something about her eyes.

"Cynder... Why are your eyes green."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, forgetting to keep her voice down.

Slasher held out his wing so she could see her reflection in them. Her eyes had lost their usual silver hue and were now a deep emerald green. She stared at them for a few minutes then felt a sting on her left leg. She had attached a pouch there to put useful objects in. Something in the pouch was burning. An emerald green glow emanated from it. Cynder pulled out a green crystal from the pouch. It was what Gaul had given her just before she left. It was now glowing like a small green sun and was white hot. It burned her scales but she couldn't drop it. A voice reberverated in her mind. It was a deep ancient voice that she recognised at once.

Gaul's voice whispered _Cynder as you know you were enchanted which made your growth accelerate and was supposed to turn you evil. I fear that it may have succeeded in planting a seed of evil in your mind. You can fight it now but it may strengthen. This crystal, among other things will stop the seed from growing. And if you're eyes change colour then it is because they were green before you were fused with Darkness. If this happens then this has worked better than I hoped and the seed has been destroyed. Goodbye Cynder, until we meet again._

Cynder returned to herself and dropped the crystal. She relayed what had happened to Slasher who said

"I think green suits you."

She smiled at him but a long threatening hiss made the dragons jump. Cynder gagged as an overpowering smell of death and evil assaulted her nostrils. She looked over at Slasher whose eyes were so full of fear it scared her.

"Slasher, what is it?"

"I don't know, I have a hunch. I met something on the way to the mountain but I hope I'm wrong-"

Just as he finished speaking a massive poisonous green serpent burst into the clearing. It's body was as thick as two tree trunks and scaled. It was about two hundred feet long and writhed constantly. Fangs as long as swords jutted from it's jaws and dripped with it's venom. Bright yellow eyes moved their gaze towards the dragon hatchlings

"Close your eyes." he commanded closing his.

Cynder obeyed, the tone of his voice made it impossible not to.

"What is it?" she asked

"A basilisk. Mum told me about them and fought one. One glance from their eyes can kill."

Cynder panicked "What do we do?"

"You, run."

"But. What about you?"

"Just run."

"Sla-"

"RUN! And don't look back."

She ran as fast as she could. Slasher watched her go then faced the basilisk. He roared as loud as he could before dodging a lunge from the serpent. He was very careful not to look the monster directly in it's eyes. As the basilisk's head whooshed past him he breathed a column of silvery flames at it. The fire bounced off the creatures scales harmlessly. Slasher jumped behind the creatures head and clung on. The basilisk shook and writhed it's entire body in a rage, desperate to get the pesky dragon away from it and into it's mouth. Slasher blasted a shock of electricity through the basilisk. This worked until it went all the way through the beasts long sinuos body and blasted back into him.

Slasher yelped as he was blown off of the basilisk by his own lightning bolt. He was thrown into a dark area of the forest. The basilisk bore down on him and he kept his eyes firmly shut. He heard the scaly body moving towards him.

Fire lanced through his body as the shadows suddenly began to swirl around him. Slasher opened his eyes to see what was happening and gasped. He was totally covered by a wall of shadow. The shadow suddenly shot into him and rested in his body. Slasher screamed in agony.

Cynder heard Slasher's scream and skidded to a halt. Without thinking she tore off in the opposite direction- toward the basilisk. She burst into the clearing and saw the basilisk slowly retreating away from Slasher. The black and silver dragon was wreathed in shadows. He seemed to be struggling with himself.

Slasher felt another prescence enter his mind. It slipped in with ease and felt as if darkness flowed through it

_Who are you? _asked Slasher

_My name, young Dragon of Darkness, is Darkclaw._

_Why are you in my head?_

_I'm dead and need someone to live inside, I chose you._

_Well, get out._

_Oh I don't think so. _

Cynder watched as Slasher looked at the basilisk. The vile creature retreated further away from him. A massive ball of energy formed in Slasher's maw. His underbelly and wings were now black and his body was smothered in Shadow. Slasher released a massive burst of dark power from his mouth which killed the basilisk instantly. The basilisk was disintegrated into golden dust which floated around the clearing like sparkling fireflies. Cynder watched it for a while admiring the glittry glow, before running at Slasher.

He looked at her as she approached and shivered as he struggled to control the new prescence inside off him. Darkclaw was not willing to let go but as it was Slasher's body he was defeated and Slasher returned to himself. Darkclaw stayed at the very back of Slasher's mind. Cynder moved over to Slasher, her newly green eyes showed concern. The male Dragon of Darkness smiled slightly. Cynder looked into his eyes and gasped

"What?" he asked.

She led him to a pool. "Look.

He did so. His eyes were the same shape and his right eye looked totally normal. His left eye however had been drained of it's usual silver hue and was now purple. Slasher looked at his reflection for a whle minute then hit the water lightly with his paw. He waited until the water settled again, then stared into it for another minute.

"What the heck is this?" he breathed at last

"International eye colour change day." answered Cynder.

The two hatchlings burst out laughing. They had been so tense even this joke sent them into hysterics. It was ten minutes before Cynder recovered enough to say

"I think duo coloured eyes suits you. Wonder if your your left wing will turn purple."

Slasher winked at her, showing his purple eye. "It better not"

Cynder said "We better get away from this place. In case more basilisks are around"

Slasher nodded. He glanced at his wings to check they were both the same colour.

**Sorry if y'all thought this chap was wierd. I was really hyper when I wrote it. Hope you all likey. (goes off into laughing fit)**

**Slasher  
or  
Eclipse**

**Hey they both have seven letters**

**Amethyst- Come on and stay away from the Irn Bru**


	11. Beginning of Darkness

The Beginning of the Darkness

Cynder walked in silence beside Slasher, who was _still _checking to see if his wing had turned purple.

"Slasher leave it, you're wing is NOT purple." she said exasperatedly.

Flicking his wings once more Slasher looked at her "Sorry."

"What are we actually going to do now?" asked Slasher quietly

Cynder turned her head to fix her emerald gaze on him "I don't know. Stay out of trouble."

Slasher laughed "I suppose that that would make sense. I meant where are we going to go?"

Cynder looked at the sky, not answering his question. CRACK! Cynder and Slasher whipped their heads to the scource of the noise. A group of large Ape commanders marched out of the forest. The biggest and meanest of them grinned

"Cynder."

Cynder looked at them. "What do you want."

"Master Malefor is not pleased that Gaul helped you escape." the ape snarled.

Slasher growled menacingly. Another of the apes pointed

"Look look another dragon."

The leader smiled wickedly showing sharp broken yellow fangs. "Yes I noticed. We can take the both of them to Gaul."

Cynder gasped. Slasher looked at her "I don't think that means what you think."

The leader gave a disturbed giggle as Cynder opened her mouth "Oh yes," he said "The Dark Master found out about Gaul's pathetic attempt to help you. The Ape King is now Malefors slave in mind and body."

Cynder fell onto her haunches and began to cry, hot tears falling from her emerald eyes. Slasher snarled at the apes.

"Now what do you want?"

"We want Cynder, and we're going to get her."

Slasher chuckled. Cynder looked at him in shock

_What is he laughing about it? _she thought

The apes were evidently taken aback by his chuckle too, they moved back a few paces. Slasher looked at them, his violet eye sparkled alongside his silver one sparkling in amusement.

"You really think?" he asked "Are you naive enough to think that I would just let you take Cynder back so she can be corrupted"

"You don't have a choice, dragon" growled the Commander

Another harsh laughed escaped Slasher's throat but quickly transformed into a malicious snarl as he leapt on the head ape. Taken by total surprise the ape had no chance to defend himself as Slasher crashed into his head. If Slasher had been older, larger and more experienced the ape would have been dead where he stood. As it was he threw Slasher off of him. The youngster flew thirty feet into the air before landing in a heap. Cynder yelped and ran to him but the ape lifted her up by the scruff of her neck before she got there. Laughing, the ape struck her across the head. Lights flashed in front of Cynder's eyes and a burning pain lanced through her head, followed by an empty black void as she passed out.

_Where am I? _thought Cynder as she opened her eyes and looked around. Every movement sent a fresh wave of pain through her small slim body. A heavy chain and collar tied her to the wall. After a few feeble attempts to smash it, Cynder stood up and stretched her limbs. A voice from the shadows made her jump. The voice was malicious and devoid of all emotion, except hate and anger. Cynder gasped, there was a familiar ring to this voice, no matter how much it had been twisted.

"No... It can't be."

"It is," laughed Gaul evilly as he stepped out of the shadows. "Welcome back, Cynder."

Cynder looked up at her former father figure and every small piece of will power left her. The black dragoness let herself go limp as Gaul picked her up.

"It's time for you to become the key that will free the Dark Master and doom your pathetic race of dragons."

Cynder didn't answer, she was even beyond tears. Cold sorrow filled her body, mind, soul and heart. The young dragoness of Darkness was numb and didn't care what happened to her. The two people in her life were either dead or lost.

Roughly, Gaul threw Cynder into Malefor's chamber. Without waiting he stormed out and the door closed behind him. Cynder stayed in a heap, crying her heart out as feeling began to return to her. The purple dragon wraith that was Malefor's spirit rose out from the beam of light. He spoke in a low amused growl

"Ah Cynder, how good of you to come here, and earlier than I expected. I hope you will become a minion I can trust rather than that pathetic excuse for an Ape King. Well, he's not so useless now that I... improved him."

Cynder sobbed "You.. are sick...! What do you... want... with me!"

"Oh, I want your help. Your help to destroy the pathetic rabble that call themselves dragons and raise up a new, pure, powerful breed of true dragons. Dragons born from my bloodline."

Cynder gasped. Malefor snarled then threw a purple beam of dark power at her. Cynder screamed as she was encased in a purple cage.

A black dragon creature that stood on two legs looked in from the top of the mountain with amusement in his red eyes.

**Well thats that. Now I know it was really short but I'm pretty pissed off. Don't ask why because I won't tell**

**Slasher**


	12. Corruption

Corruption

Powerful waves of forbidden, poisonous energy thrust themselves into Cynder like the venom from the fangs of an adder. Sharp, freezing pain screeched across the surface of Cynder's scales as the shimmering, violet beams touched them. Slowly, each wave of darkness penetrated deeper and deeper into the young dragoness, until her very soul was affected. A high pitched screech tore from her lungs and the young dragoness' tail scratched her scales as she beat it against her body, in a desperate attempt to stop the burning cold. Violent, shivers raced along Cynder's spine and her whole body felt as if it was going to shatter into a million pieces. Every beat of her heart caused her excruciating pain and fiery daggers clutched nd clawed at her mind. Strength poured into Cynder's limbs and her body stretched and grew. Thoughts and ideas that were not hers slithered through her mind as slowly, she became saturated with darkness. With a final shudder of pain, Cynder collapsed onto the ground. Her sparkling green eyes closed as light and happiness faded from them.

Billowing clouds of acid green smoke swirled and blew around the room. The chamber door opened to reveal Gaul standing in the entrance-way his staff slung across his back. The emerald green light pouring like liquid from the room reflected brilliantly in the crystalline orb that was his left eye. The cold, growling voice of Malefor said,

"It is done." A cruel and twisted happiness fell from the words like stones into a river

Shock registered in Gaul's ancient face and his cruel beady eye widened as Cynder stepped out of the smoke. Her small adolescents body had been transfigured into the form of a mature adult dragoness, that radiated power. Lashing behind her was an abnormally long tail with a deadly appendage- a sickle razor-sharp blade lashed like white flames at the end. Stubby claws had transformed into jagged hooked talons, perfect for ripping through flesh and armour. She was unnaturaly thin and incredibly curved, her legs were long and thin; she was obviously built for speed not power as most dragonesses seemed to be. Slowly, she opened her eyes. What burned inside them made even Gaul step back a pace. Rage and hate boiled like a volatile volcano in her cold green eyes.

Malefor said "Train her. Most of her powers will be in place. All you have to do is, refine them. Use any means necessary."

A malicious grin flickered across the Ape King's face as he bowed then stalked after Cynder. As the door closed Malefor smiled

"Soon I shall be free..."

With a mighty roar, the spirit of the purple dragon, Malefor, dived back into the heart of the mountain, through the purple beam from which he had risen.

Cuckling evilly to himself Gaul follwed Cynder as she stormed through the corridors and hallways. Creeping along silently, so as not to alert her to his prescence, the massive ape tailed Cynder all the way to her chambers. Before she turned to walk through the door she snarled menacingly

"You can stop following me now, ape."

"It seems you still must learn to respect your master, Dragon." teased Gaul

Slowly, Cynder turned to face him. "Go to hell!"

"I have already been. It was like a holiday."

"Did everyone there stink as much as you?" asked Cynder, mocking dripped from her voice

Deciding not to grace that comment with a verbal reply, Gaul slammed his staff into Cynder's behind, knocking her into the room. The young dragoness was sent tumbling into the floor. Gathering herself up she spun around and blasted a withering inferno of dark red flames into Gaul's face. Like a flash of lightning the magical staff came into play. A dark green shield absorbed the fire easily. Gaul laughed maniacly. Fear showed in Cynder's eyes as she backed away from him. Still laughing, Gaul slammed the heavy door shut and walked away.

Anger and rage boiled inside Cynder as humiliation tormented her brain.

_He'll pay for that one day. _she thought _I'm not the helpless hatchling he used to know._

CRACK! Cynder's tail shattered a glass ornament that stood on a smooth stone pedestal. Another blow and the pedestal crashed into the ground. After destroying several more objects around her room, Cynder swung the door open, almost making it fly off the hinges before walking out of it.

A small group of young apes looked up at Cynder as she passed them.

"Who are you?" one plucked up the courage to ask. The others got behind him and waited for an answer

Opening her maw, Cynder breathed a scarlet blaze and incinerated the youngsters to ashes before they had the chance to experience even a flicker of fear. Using her talon she wrote in the ashes, in a long whippy script

"I am Cynder!"

With a satisfied snort she slipped further along the oppressing stone corridor, trying to remain the end of the dark dingy tunnel she strethed her powerful new wings and launched herself into the cold crisp air. Flapping her wings in a slow easy rythym, Cynder flew to the peak of the dreadful mountain. Landing gracefully, her long sharp claws scraped the rough granite gray surface, Cynder looked up at the two moons as they began their long journey away from each other, preparing themselves for the next time the feared Night of Eternal Darkness would descend upon the stricken world...

Echoing across the mountain, like a waterfall crashing down upon a new era, Cynder's roar fell upon the ears of every living creature in the mountain and beyond. Rearing back her head she let loose a scorching inferno into the night sky.

**Hope you liked this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**Slasher**


	13. First Mission

First Mission

Only when a cold stiffness tormented Cyner's limbs did she finally spread her mighty wings and soar gracefully away from the mountain's summit, her dark pink wings carrying her through the crisp night air effortlessly. Slowly, as the moon continued their endless path across the great skies behind her, the black dragoness of darkness circled the mountain once then flew like an arrow through one of it's higher set of doors. Roaring in pain and irritation as the delicate wing membrane of her right wing scraped roughly across the cold unforgiving stone wall, Cynder jerked it in quickly which caused her to land. However she was so unbalanced that she crashed against the left wall of the hall, hard. This caused her wing to fold abruptly, jerking several of the thin bones out of place, a few even piercing her scales. Trickling in ravers from her wings was her warm, scarlet red blood. Whimpering in pain Cynder licked the wounds and tried in vain to fit the bones of her wing back in place. However she stopped quite quickly as the pain became unbearable. Forcing herself to stop himpering like a hatchling, which was really all she was in an adults body, Cynder stood motionless as she waited for the fiery pain to recede somewhat. Shaking herself, the young dragoness allowed one tear to form at the corner of her eye. A shining orb of glittering diamond, the tear drop glistened on the small black scales around her eyes. Slowly the small tear began to lose it's grip upon it's owner gently caressing Cynder's cheek as it slid it's way elegantly towards the ground. Finally, when there was nothing before it but a drop of about twenty feet, the small tear drofting on it's final journey towards the floor. Cynder watched the tear as it fell, thinking that the way the light caught it was actually quite beautiful. Berating herself for thinking such a thing, the dragoness shook herself, trying desperately to rid herself of any more tears that were starting to form. Walking quickly to the end of the hall, Cynder left the tear as a glistening puddle on the ground. She had forgotten one thing however...

Holding her head high, Cynder made her way through the halls and chambers that spider webbed in an intricate path through the dreaded mountain that the black dragoness called home. Determined to show a cold calm exterior, inside Cynder was actually burning. Confusion, pain and hurt combatted her more evil emotions of hate, anger and malice, making her volatile and a danger to herself. The initial darkness that had filled her was being quelled by the fragments of light that still resided deep within her. More tears threatened to overwhelm her and break free but she resisted, not wanting to seem like a hatchling, which she still was... A lost, lonely hatchling in the body of an adult dragoness. Making her way through the oppressing hallway that she was in, Cynder was startled when a small ape ran up to her

"Mistress!" it said urgently

"What is it?" asked Cynder, her own cold cruel and malicous voice was still an uncomfortable noise for her and she fought back the urge to shudder

Noticing neither the fact he had startled her or the dragoness' reaction to her own voice the ape rambled on, as if terrified of keeping the large dragoness too long

"His Majesty says you have to go see him immediately mistress,"

"I see..." said Cynder thoughtfully "Why do you keep calling _me_ mistess... I thought all apes hated dragons and served Gaul."

"We do mistress... But that has changed and now you are second only to Gaul."

"Good!" said the young dragoness, a smile of satisfaction nuddged at her face

_Where did that come from? _Cynder's inner voice asked herself...

Shrugging the black dragoness swept passed the ape and walked wiftly to Gaul's chamber. Along the way she contemplated on why he would have summoned her. Itching sensations twinkled around her eyes and cheeks but she ignored them and carried on through the dark chambers.

_This place is so depressing... _she thought _I like the dark sure but this is just weird, and what with all the green stuff, talk about eyesores... Probably Gaul's idea of decorating_

Since both of their changes, Cynder had begun to despise Gaul with all her heart. Little did she know was that this was exactly what Malefor had planned... He had known all along how close Gaul and Cynder were... Normally the purple tyrant would have stopped it their and then but it did prove useful and would aid him. To allow Cynder to become close to Gaul then tear him away from her and turn the Ape King against the dragon would cause conflict. Cynder would come to hate Gaul because of her corruption, and her heart would become as black as his own... Luckily for Malefor this had happened all according to plan, it could have easily back fired and allowed the dragoness to repel the darkness.

_"_Whether my gamble had paid off or not Cynder would have been mine no matter what!" said Malefor from deep within his prison "But it has and now the downfall of everything is nigh."

Cautiously Cynder knocked on Gaul's door with her sharp talons. Withdrawing her paw, she stood back and waited. Without warning the door was blasted apart! Shrieking in fear, Cynder leapt back. Numerous fragments of debris struk her scales, leaving bruises or even cuts if they were sharp enough to slice through her hard armour of ebony scales. Billowing clouds of dust and smoke rose up into the air, causing Cynder to cough and gag as she struggled to find air. As her lungs filled up with dust she became light headed and swayed from side to side as her legs seemed to transfigure into water. Blots of vibrant colour splattered before her eyes like paint on canvas as her vision faded. Heavy lead weights hung from her limbs and she felt her eyelids droop. Dropping to her knees Cynder let a small smile touch her lips...

_Dying isn't so bad..._ She thought_ It is better than living with fury and hate in our hearts_

Collapsing to her side Cynder faded complately and her eyes closed...

From out of the dust came strong hands that lifted up her thin delicate body and carried her into a room, allowing her long tail to drag uselessly along the floor. Dropping Cynder onto a bed, the one who had saved her stalked across the room and sat down, glaring coldly at the dragoness through one cruel eye...

Slowly, Cynder's emerald green eyes opened and she saw that she was lying on a bed in a very familiar room. The black dragon'ss head was bursting. Forcing herself to stand, Cynder lurched as nausea and a faint feelling strived to subdue her. Gazing around the room Cynder noticed a figure sitting on a chair, starin at her intently as if he wanted nothing but to drive a dagger into her.

"Finally! You're awake!" snarled Gaul "I've waited four hours for you overgrown lizard to wake up"

"Just leave me next time then!" snapped Cynder venemously. She looked away from him

A realisation struck Cynder. Turning around she asked "Wasn't I dead?"

"Yes you were... I revived you with dark magic, a power of necromancy taught to me by Malefor," growled Gaul

"You should have left me be," Cynder said as she turned around and walked away, her legs still unsteady

"Oh no!" laughed Gaul evilly "You are not getting out of this life you now lead that easily. And know that no matter how many times you die I can always bring you back."

"Yeah right!" Cynder reared up on her hind legs and glared down at the Ape King, her eyes cold

Suddenly a flash of silver and a jerking movement from Gaul's hand caught her eye. Gasping as she felt something strike her chest, Cynder raised her paw to the painful area and felt blood. Looking down she saw a dagger protuding from her pink chest, whilst rivers of blood ran down her chest and stomach. It took all this time for Cynder's body to react that her heart had been pierced and had stopped. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Cynder fell to the ground and the light faded from her still open eyes...

Then she woke up.

"Ahhh!" she gasped, her chest heaved "What the hell?" Noticing that her scales were still covered in blood she groaned

"You killed me then brought me back to life."

"Very observant young lady," grinned Gaul "Maybe dragon's aren't that stupid after all," he was mocking her and she could tell

Growling in annoyance at the insult to her race Cynder asked sharply "Why did you summon me here?"

Deliberately prolonging his answer justto annoy her Gaul asked "Does it hurt to die? I would not know, for I have never died."

"Really?" asked Cynder, her voice taking on a tone of dark teasing "You sure smell like you have."

"Would you like to die again?" asked Gaul menacingly

"Not particularly..." Cynder growled

"Well then, do not insult me and answer my question."

"Yes it hurts to die," responded Cynder, wondering why he was asking her this _Probably just to tease me_

"I see... Anyway I called you here because I want you to go on a mission."

Immediatly on the defensive, Cynder asked "What kind of mission?"

"I want you to destroy a small group who may become a threat to the ape army if they join the dragons in the war... It should be easy but I want to see if you can actually use your brain and accomplish an easy task before I send you on far harder ones."

Snorting in annoyance and contempt for his pointless insults, Cynder bowed mockingly and said in a voice dripping with sarcasm "As you wish, your majesty."

Turning around Cynder stalked out of the chamber... Or was about to when Gaul called her back "Have you been crying?" he spat the word 'crying' as if it was the most disgusting and repuldive thing he had said

"N...no..." Cynder stuttered quickly, but her tone was as good as a confession. Shaking with fear Cynder shut her eyes tight and waited with dread for whatever punishment Gaul would rain down upon her. Instead the Ape King merely allowed a cold chuckle to escape his throat. Confusion and amazement pried Cynder's eyes open. The sight before almost gave her a heart attack. Gaul was clutching his sides... laughing! A cold cruel, menacing laugh but still a laugh

Stunned and shocked Cynder tilted her head and gazed at him as if he had grown an extra head, or turned into a dragon. Gaul continued laughing for about five minutes then coughed and stopped abruptly.

"What the heck was that about?" asked Cynder

"You're pathetic attempt at lying... No you and you're crying get out of my sight or I'll kill you again." His green eye glowed "And this time, It will hurt more than you have ever experienced.

Stalking out of the room Cynder thought to herself _He's lost it._

Until now she had forgotten about her wing which was not hurting. When she looked at it she noticed that it was good as new...

"Seems that when Gaul revived me, he healed all of me... Good, that should make things easier... But I wish I didn't know that he could kill me whenever he wants then bring me back to life so Master Malefor is not displeased... Oh god! He could do anything to me!" cried Cynder

A passing ape looked at her in shock but one flick of her tail beheaded it. Blood spurted on Cynder's pink chest scales but she ignored it. Blood was nothing to her... And she would be bathed in a lot of it very soon... In the blood of rebels...

**YAY!!! I finally got this chap up... Hope you all like it..**

**Oh and for those of you who don't know. I am stopping the Truth of Purple. But don't worry, a new and better one is on it's way... Plot will be the same roughly, but with a few minor changes and the last three chapters I did will be totally different.**

**Slasher EclipseSight**


	14. A New Enemy

A New Enemy

Cold cruel winds slashed Cynder's scales and wings as she flew like a demented demon through the harsh, merciless night air. Having decided to attack under the cover of darkness where she was not only hidden, but more alive than she ever felt in daytime. Thankful that her black scales allowed her to meld whith the shadows as she soared swiftly to the location of the rebel outpost. Landing noiselessly on a rocky outcrop overlooking the vast murky swamp the black Dragoness waited and watched.

The rebel group consisted of five griffins, a dozen moles, and, something that the Lady of Darkness would have to be wary of- cheetahs. There were roughly 20 of the spotted cats, all armed to the teeth. Taking this into account Cynder started to formulate a cruel scheme to ensure that none escaped alive…

The moon was now high in the sky, which irked the young Dragoness but she couldn't wait any longer. Diving down from her perch she swiftly snatched on of the two sentries into the air, slicing her claws through his throat before he could make a sound. Relishing in the warm blood with dripping from her cruel curved talons, she landed. Dropping the corpse noiselessly to the swampy ground she slipped across to where the other sentry was stationed.

A quick flick of her tail ended the griffin's life. That was the easy part, now on to stage 2 of her plan. Taking off on silent wings, she hovered above the camp, looking around for something to burn.

_Damn it! I better hurry up before-_

She was cut off rather forcefully by an arrow that pierced her shoulder. Hissing as hot spikes of pain speared her limb, Cynder was distracted enough for another arrow to safely pierce her hip.

_Not very good shots. _she snorted before banking to the left, avoiding another two arrows. Landing swiftly she quickly assessed that her injuries were merely painful, not life threatening. Glaring at the two cheetah's who had launched the arrows she opened her maw and engulfed the smaller one with a searing hot flame. Satisfaction flowed through her twisted mind, as the screams of the dying cat tore through her ears. Turning to the second cat, she leapt forwards. Her pain, rather than hindering her, gave her new strength.

Slicing her claws through his furred pelt, a shiver of delight ran up her spine as her claws slid through skin and muscle. Before her victim had touched the ground, another blaze of flame scorched through the canvas of a tent, roasting it's inhabitants alive. By now the rest of the camp was on the alert, and all were armed with various weaponry. Advancing on her menacingly, the largest cheetah, who could have been the leader snarled at her

"Just who are you? And what is your reason for attacking us like this, you damned lizard."

Bristling at the insult Cynder hissed "Not that it's any business of yours fur face, but I'm here to kill you all on order of my…" she spat the last word "…_Master."_

"And just who is your master?" he asked

"Like I'd tell scum like you!" she barked, before flicking her tail at him.

Avoiding it the cheetah swung his weapon, a short, thick bladed sword at her. Leaning back she avoided the strike before beheading a mole which had tried to sneak attack her with a wing blade.

"Stop!" the cheetah commanded "Leave her to me!"

Dutifully, the rest of the creatures backed off to form a living arena around the pair.

Grinning evilly Cynder hissed "So, you want to die alone do you?"

"It is you who will die today traitor!" the burn orange cheetah growled, as he twirled his weapon.

"Traitor?" the black Dragoness snapped, rearing her head back to glare down at the warrior before her "How can I be a traitor to someone I've never met?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Stamping his foot hard to the ground, the feline snorted in disgust and spat in Cynder's face before saying venomously "The Dragons agreed to help us against the apes, it seems that they have switched sides!"

Suddenly, immense pain almost blinded Cynder, as the Cheetah's oddly shaped blade sliced her scales, ripping them open like water. With two arrows already in her, Cynder was at a disadvantage in this fight. Pain was of almost no hindrance to her, but blood loss and the arrowheads grinding against her bone quickly slowed her down.

Sensing his advantage, the cheetah pressed forwards, scoring a deep slash down her left flank. Shaking him off, Cynder skipped backwards before buffering him hard with her wing blade. Unfortunatly, only the flat of the blade collided with her opponents head. Cursing, Cynder was about to leap forwards to strike the dazed cheetah, when the arrows in her legs stopped, her, sending her crashing to the ground. Burning pains contricted her chest, as she staved her breastbone on the ground. Coughing, she was barely able to make out the figure bearing down on her through the colours exploding in her vision

Roaring in irritation, Cynder flicked her talons through the air. A scream of agony told the twisted Dragoness that she had hit her mark- right on her adversaries chest. Roaring in rage the cat leapt forwards stabbing his blade deep into Cynder's side. This would have allowed him to end the contest there and then with a blow to the skull, had the dragoness' long tail not stabbed his chest, smashing three of his ribs. Falling to his knees, the cheetah gasped , clutching his wounds and struggling to breathe,

"Why?"

"Because I was told," Cynder said emotionlessly, before smirking "And I enjoyed it."

The cheetah opened his mouth to say something but keeled over as the pain overtook his senses. Satisfied he would die, Cynder turned her attention to the stunned spectators. Rolling her eyes at their idiocy, she scorched a few so their screaming would snap the others out of shock. It did. However, instead of attacking, the group ran. Snarling in irritation the Terror of the Skies took to the air and chased them down.

Eventually, she had slaughtered them all the way a terrier hunted rats, despite her horrific injuries. Laying down, she decided to tend to her wounds before going back to Gaul. Gripping the arrow in her shoulder with her teeth, she tried to pull it out. After a few seconds she quickly realised she was only going to snap it and make it even harder to remove. Shrugging she laid her head on her paws and fell asleep until night fell away to morning.

Long after Cynder had recovered enough to begin the flight back to the Well of Souls, the cheetah she had left for dead stirred. Everything around him was burning, and he was an inch from death. No matter how hard he had struck that Dragon she had kept coming at him; it wasn't natural. Pushing any thoughts from his mind he closed his eyes again and waited to die. Death never came. Just before he drifted into unconciousness a small black blurred shape appeared in his vision.


End file.
